Carmelo Says Kobe’s Health Will Dictate If Free Agents Want To Play For Lakers

After all the commotion over Kobe Bryant’s blockbuster extension, many Lakers fans are now concerned about where the team will the get the remaining cap dollars to build a winner.

Money and cap space isn’t the only determining factor to the Lakers rebuild. According to Carmelo Anthony who sat down with USA Today, big named free agents are going to be more concerned with Bryant’s health.

But as [Carmelo Anthony] chatted briefly with USA TODAY Sports about Kobe Bryant’s two-year, $48.5 million extension, he may as well have been speaking for the entire free agency class of 2014 when he made this not-so-surprising statement: Bryant’s health and performance, rather than the size of his deal, likely will determine whether anyone of equal stature joins him this summer. When asked if free agents like himself would see Bryant as a star who is still worthy of joining in order to contend for a title, Anthony said, “I mean you’ll have to see. It’s hard to gauge at this point, not until he comes back (from his April Achilles tendon tear) and figures some things out. So I don’t know. They might have some plans up their sleeve.”

I really don’t think Kobe’s health will play into the equation at all. Kobe Bryant will have played 20 years in the NBA when his extension is up.

The Lakers really can’t add a huge name until 2016. At that point Bryant will have one season left to play in the NBA. Whatever big named free agents choose the Lakers will be picking the name on the jersey over actually playing second fiddle to Kobe.